A New Marriage for Grandpa Daniel Hill

Well, blow-me-down! Will wonders never cease?

I was just sitting here minding my own business, kinda bored... I opened an ancestry tab on my computer and saw that it was on the profile of my maternal grandfather, Daniel Webster Hill. Just for the heck of it, I decided to do a search to see if there might be anything new on him. I scrolled down the list of results, seeing all the old familiar ones that I've long since vetted, when one "newbie" caught my eye. Hmm... a marriage of a Daniel Hill to a Lizzie Campbell, in 1918, in Newport News, VA.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA? That's where I live! 

I could see from the preview that this Daniel's birthyear closely matched my grandfather's. I also saw that his parents were Henry and Pinkie - too much of a coincidence to ignore... so I decided to check out the document. 

Virginia, Marriage Registers, 1853–1935. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Now, I like to show the whole document, for viewer context, but here are the focal points:

The very first entry on the document shows the marriage of Daniel Hill and Lizzie Campbell, recorded as having taken place on April 21, 1918, in Newport News. Daniel's age is given as 38, which coincides perfectly with his birth year of 1879. His bride, Lizzie, was 32. Daniel is noted to be "single," but Lizzie is widowed, suggesting that Campbell may not be her maiden name. Daniel's birthplace is given as Norfolk, which is not correct; however, he did live in Norfolk, prior to this, so I see this as just a form error.

This is the right-hand side of the form. It's showing that both Daniel and Lizzie lived in Newport News. What??? My grandfather lived here in my city??? I've got some digging to do! But, the real clincher for this - the reason I'm sure this is my grandfather - is the "names of their parents." The husband's parents' names are stated to be Henry & Pinkey Hill. Well, those are Daniel's parents, and I just don't think it's likely that, with all the other facts matching, there would be a "Pinkey" for the mother, whose husband just happened to be named Henry, and it not be my Daniel. Also, as suspected, the wife's parents' surname is Christian, not Campbell. This suggests that Lizzie's maiden name was most likely Christian, and that Campbell was the surname of her late, previous husband.

So many questions!

Well, I've got some work to do! Daniel's occupation is noted to be "Laborer," which could be anything. However, with so many people coming to Newport News, during that time, to work at the shipyard, my first thought is to see if he may have been working there. I'll also have to research the clergyman, W.J. Brown, to see what church he may have been affiliated with, which might lead to more information. And, of course, I'll need to try to obtain a copy of the actual marriage certificate, which as of this writing, I haven't found. However, in seeking the marriage certificate, I did find that Grandpa Daniel's first bride, Lizzie, died just four years after they were married, in 1922, which explains why Daniel was eligible to marry my grandmother, in 1926. Interestingly, Lizzie's surname on the death certificate is given as "Camble" (Campbell), not Hill. The parents of the deceased, Warren and Mary Christian, are the same as on the marriage record for Lizzie and Daniel, so I'm sure this is her. This just fits the pattern of craziness that has been par for the course in researching my elusive grandfather, Daniel Webster Hill.

Death Certificate for Lizzie Camble
Virginia, Deaths, 1912–2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.

More to come...

Renate

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